Good basic Trainz 2010 or 12 PC system

[kens_trainz]

Hi all,

I have TS 2010 (wbe, I believe), and it's not completely smooth on my 4-year-old PC, so I'm planning on buying a whole new system. I usually get a PC built to my specs, rather than buying a 'box' from a 'big box' store.

So - what would be the specs (or specific recommendations) for a competent, reasonably-priced Trainz computer?

I don't have too many restrictions other than the following
- I've generally been happier with Intel than AMD, though I'm not a total bigot
- I generally try to select 'proven' components at reasonable price, rather than the bleeding edge
- Trainz is probably the most demanding game or graphics app I run

Suggestions most welcome.This should be in a FAQ or a sticky, but I couldn't find it.

 

[nfotis]

What is your budget?

For me, an ideal set-up would be centered around:
- Intel 2500K CPU
- Z68 chipset motherboard
- Nvidia 560Ti graphics card (or ATI 6950, if you are on a budget)
- 4 GB RAM are enough, if you are not running anything heavier than Trainz
- Windows 7 64-bit are suggested.
- Power supply: at least a high quality 550 Watts, if you do not plan a multiple graphics card (SLI or Crossfire set-up)

Cheers,
N.F.

 

[kens_trainz]

Thanks for the reply.

What is your budget?

On average I aim to spend about $1000 for the tower (mon and other stuff extra). I'm not constrained by budget, but like most people I don't want to buy more than I reasonably need, and as I mentioned, Trainz is about the most demanding app I run.

Does the 64 bit CPU run Trainz that much better than 32 bit?

 

[johnwhelan]

Thanks for the reply.



On average I aim to spend about $1000 for the tower (mon and other stuff extra). I'm not constrained by budget, but like most people I don't want to buy more than I reasonably need, and as I mentioned, Trainz is about the most demanding app I run.

Does the 64 bit CPU run Trainz that much better than 32 bit?

Trainz uses 2 gigs max under 32 bit operating systems and 4 gigs under 64 bit operating system so 64 bit is preferred.

Cheerio John

 

[RRSignal]

The system NF mentioned should run Trainz excellently. Tigerdirect presently has an nVidia 550Ti card on sale that's $79.xx after rebate. I specced a similar i5 system earlier this week for a bit over $600, although that's without a HDD or SSD or the OS (I have XP 32 and 64, so I'm set there.) The point is you should be able to get quite a good system for $1,000 or less, if you pick your parts carefully, and it would include at least a decent SSD for that price.

 

[tension69]

I run TS2010 on my rig (specs in sig) @ 1080 HD. I can't seem to eliminate 100% the frikkin' occasional stuttering when using cam mode "3" . No idea why Trainz is like this, my guess is a SSD would solve the glitch. I just got Skyrim tho, and that runs maxed out @1080 silky smooth.

I doubt you could build my rig for $1000 tho...

Maybe 2012 has a better coded engine under the hood??? Tho I doubt that as well tbo...

a decent SSD for that price.

Considering the ratio of MB to Cost atm, that statement fails.

Does the 64 bit CPU run Trainz that much better than 32 bit?

Yes.

 

[Retro00064]

One thought would be to try adding the "-ResourceMemory" line to your trainzoptions.txt file. This sets the amount of memory set apart for caching resources (such as route objects), with the value being the amount of memory in megabytes. For example, I use "-ResourceMemory=100", which sets apart 100 MB of RAM for the aforementioned caching.

Since objects would thus be cached in that set-apart RAM, Trainz does not have to always reload them when you re-enter a scene that contains the cached objects from one that doesn't, thus possibly reducing the stuttering from Trainz loading the objects off the hard drive.

It might be a good idea to be conservative with the amount of RAM you set apart using this option.

As far as I know, this option has been disabled in TS12.

Regards,

Retro.

 

[RRSignal]

I run TS2010 on my rig (specs in sig) @ 1080 HD. I can't seem to eliminate 100% the frikkin' occasional stuttering when using cam mode "3" . No idea why Trainz is like this, my guess is a SSD would solve the glitch. I just got Skyrim tho, and that runs maxed out @1080 silky smooth.

That'd be near impossible.

Considering the ratio of MB to Cost atm, that statement fails.

As a guy who is unusually cost-benefit obsessed, that statement is questionable at best. Do you have 100GB+ of installed Trainz content on your SSD + a bloated OS? If not, your statement fails. Unless you're like me, who maintains a couple separate Trainz installations, of course...

Yeah you can drop the cost per Gb but for the purposes of Trainz, SSD isn't cheap, but it isn't that bad atm either. 120Gb ~ $150.

 

[Euphod]

Can the OP post his current specs, so we can get an idea of what would improve his performance?

 

[lewisner]

I run TS2010 on my rig (specs in sig) @ 1080 HD. I can't seem to eliminate 100% the frikkin' occasional stuttering when using cam mode "3" . No idea why Trainz is like this, my guess is a SSD would solve the glitch. I just got Skyrim tho, and that runs maxed out @1080 silky smooth.

I doubt you could build my rig for $1000 tho...

Maybe 2012 has a better coded engine under the hood??? Tho I doubt that as well tbo...



Considering the ratio of MB to Cost atm, that statement fails.



Yes.

When I got my SSD I noticed an immediate improvement in performance. When I changed the GPU performance improved again and the new Mobo and CPU sealed the deal. FPS are now typically 76 FPS and there's not trace of lag or stutter.

 

[kens_trainz]

Can the OP post his current specs, so we can get an idea of what would improve his performance?

Well, the point of my question was to get specs and suggestions for a reasonable new system,since Auran apparently hasn't posted the min or recommended specs for TS 2010.

(and you folks are being very helpful with this, thanks )

But since you asked nicely, here's my current PC:

ASUSTeK P5GD1 mobo
3.00 gigahertz Intel Pentium 4
2048 MB ram
250 GB SATA hd
NVIDIA GeForce 210 - 1 GB ram
Windows XP Pro - all up-to-date

... and I can run Trainz 2010 reasonably, but it's always a bit glitchy on view 3 (tracking) and seems slow to draw big scenes as they change, and occasionally just locks or crashes on big routes.

I've tried to stay up-to-date and to seek out optimization tips, but new ideas are of course welcome.

TS2010 seems to have most of what I want, and given the past pains of updating, I'm not that interested in TS 12 at this moment...

Cheers

 

[clam1952]

Well, the point of my question was to get specs and suggestions for a reasonable new system,since Auran apparently hasn't posted the min or recommended specs for TS 2010.

Didn't look very hard http://www.ts2010.com/ bottom of page

 

[kens_trainz]

Didn't look very hard http://www.ts2010.com/ bottom of page

-ahem-

You're right... thanks.

As a feeble defense, I tried a search of the auran site and looking in the FAQ, then gave up.

 

[RRSignal]

But since you asked nicely, here's my current PC:

ASUSTeK P5GD1 mobo
3.00 gigahertz Intel Pentium 4
2048 MB ram
250 GB SATA hd
NVIDIA GeForce 210 - 1 GB ram
Windows XP Pro - all up-to-date

... and I can run Trainz 2010 reasonably, but it's always a bit glitchy on view 3 (tracking) and seems slow to draw big scenes as they change, and occasionally just locks or crashes on big routes.

FYI, the graphics card on that machine is the likely bottleneck. I'm guessing the power supply is why it's so low-end. Drop a low-power GT240 and you'll probably double your framerates like I did; even better, Tigerdirect has a 9600GSO that's $14.99 after rebate, if your power supply could support it. Just a thought that you could try a cheap upgrade before splurging on an entirely new machine.

That said, by no means am I trying to talk you out of an upgrade; if there is any time to do it, it's now. Even I, who is notorious for not upgrading his machines, am *seriously* considering it, albeit more for FSX than for Trainz.

 

[Euphod]

Well, the point of my question was to get specs and suggestions for a reasonable new system,

Yes, I realize that, but Master always taught me that it was more important to know where you've been than to guess where you're going.
As it turns out, I used to have a similar system, but upgraded in 2007 to a Core 2 Duo E6850 at 3.00Ghz, 4GB Ram and kept my GeForce 8800 GTS. It's getting a bit long in the tooth now, but runs three versions of Trainz with sliders maxed. The performance depends on the adjustments I make to the sliders, and the complexity of the map I'm using. I do remember a huge performance boost over my previous system though.

In closing then, anything you install beyond what I've listed (and that's practically everything they sell now days) will only be icing on the cake. If it were me, I'd go somewhere between bleeding edge and a Core 2 Duo system. I'm sure you'll be pleased!

 

[nfotis]

@kens_trainz:
Also, a major parameter for the graphics card is the resolution of the monitor you are planning to use.

A 1680*1050 pixel monitor (typically around 20") has much less pixels to fill than a 1920*1200 monitor (24" typical size), so you should take this parameter into consideration when shopping for a graphics card.

I suggest 64-bit version of Windows7, because you will need at some time to use multiple programs (e.g. GIMP, Trainz, TransDEM) etc., often at the same time, and 4 GBytes may be a little tight
(so, I would seriously suggest you put 2*4 GByte memory sticks instead of 2*2 GB).

Also, select a motherboard with 4 memory slots, to keep some room for growth in this department.

Hard disks these days are very costly due to the Thailand floods, so buy only one for the operating system and Trainz (if you have an external disk, use this one for back-ups)

Just checked on Tigerdirect on ready configurations, and I feel this one is very good as a starting point:
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1375733&CatId=333

Cheers,
N.F.

 

[kens_trainz]

Y'all rock. thanks for the feedback.

I did take the time today to update my bios and the video drivers, and there was also an update for TS 2010, so I have some changes to try out.

This exercise also pointed out that this PC is, um, 6 or 7 years old (except for a newer SATA drive and the video card) so maybe the computer industry does deserve a bit more of my money.

(N.F. - thanks very much for the link to the Tiger Direct system)